Hawksong Retold
by grimm336
Summary: This is the Hawksong if Danica's sister were alive and if Zane's brother, Gregory, had survived. The first chapter is basically the same as the book, except a few changes. The more dramatic changes happen in like chapter four.
1. Chapter 1

Hawksong (Retold)

I do not own Hawksong. This is just a rettellng of the story with a few tweaks.

Chapter 1

I took a deep breath to steady my nerves and narrowly avoided retching from the sharp, well-known stench that surrounded me.

The smell of hot avian blood spattered on the stones, and cool serpiente blood that seemed ready to dissolve the skin off my hands if I touched it. The smell of burned hair and feathers and skin of the dead smoldered in the fire of a dropped lantern. Only the fall of rain all the night before kept that fire from spreading through the clearing to the woods.

From the forest to my left, I heard the desperate, strangled cry of a man in pain.

I started to move toward the sound, but when I took a step through the trees in his direction, I came upon a sight that made my knees buckle, my breath freezing as I fell to the familiar body.

Golden hair, so like my own, was swept across the boy's eyes, closed forever now but so clear in my mind, His skin was gray in the morning light, covered with a light spray of dew. My younger brother, my only brother, was dead.

Like our father years ago, like aunts and uncles and too many friends, Xavier Shardae was forever grounded. I stared at his still form, willing him to take a breath and open eyes whose color would mirror my own. I willed myself to wake up from this nightmare.

_I could not be the last. _The last child of Nacola Shardae, who was all the family I had left now. _No. _I told myself. I still have my sister.

I wanted to scream and weep, but a hawk does not cry, especially here on the battlefield, in the midst of the dead an surrounded only by her guards. She does not scream or beat the ground and curse the sky.

Among my kind, tears were considered a disgrace to the dead and shame among the living.

_Avian reserve._ It kept the heart from breaking with each new death. It kept the warriors fighting a war no one could win. It kept me standing when I had nothing to stand for but bloodshed.

I could not cry for my brother, thought I wanted to.

I pushed the sounds away, forcing my lips not to tremble. Only one heavy breath escaped my, wanting to be a sigh. I lifted my dry eyes to the guards who stood about my protectively in the woods.

"Take him home," I ordered, my voice wavering a bit despite my resolve.

"Shardae, you should come home, too."

I turned to Andreios, the captain of the most elite flight in the avian army, and took in the worried expression in his soft brown eyes. The crow had been my friend for years before he had been my guard, and I began to nod assent to his words.

Another cry from the woods made me freeze. I started toward it, but not here on the battlefield. I had been walking these bloody fields whenever I could ever since I was twelve; I could not avert my eyes when we were in the middle of this chaos and someone was pleading, with what was probably his last breath, for help. "And why not, Andreios?"

The crow knew he was in trouble the instant I addressed him by his full name instead of his childhood nickname of Rei, bur he kept on my heels as I stepped around the slain bodies and closer to the voice. The rest of his flight fell back, out of sight in their second forms- crows and ravens, mostly. They would take my brother home only when it did not mean leaving me alone here.

"Dani." In return, I knew Rei was serious when he lapsed into the informal and used _my _nickname, Danni, instead of a respectful title of my surname, Shardae. Even when we were alone, Rei rarely called me Danica. It was an entreaty to out lifelong friendship when he used that nickname where someone else could hear it, and so I paused to listen. "That's Gregory Cobriana. You don't his blood on your hands."

For a moment the name meant nothing to me. With his hair streaked with blood and his expression a mask of pain, Gregory Cobriana could have been anyone's brother, husband or son. But then I recognized the stark black hair against his fair skin, the onyx signet ring on his left hand and, as he looked up, the deep garnet eyes that were a trademark of the Cobriana line, just as molten gold eyes were characteristics of my own family.

I did not have the energy to rage. Every emotion I had was cloaked in the shield of reserve I had learned since I was a chick.

Evidently the serpiente prince recognized me as well, for his pleas caught in his throat, and his eyes closed.

I stepped toward him and heard a flutter of movement as my guards moved closer, ready to intervene if the fallen man was a threat.

With all his various scratches and minor injuries, it was hard to tell where the worst of the damage was. I saw a broken leg, possibly a broken arm; wither of those he could heal from.

What would I do if that was the worst? I he was hurt, but not too hurt to survive? This was the man who had led the soldiers that had killed my brother and his guards. Would I turn my back so the Royal Flight could finish what all these fallen fighters had not?

For a moment I thought of taking my knife and putting it in his heart or slitting his throat myself and ending the life this creature still held while my brother lay dead.

Despite my guards' protest, I went again to my kneed, this time beside the enemy. I looked at that pale face and tried to summon the fury I needed.

His eyes fluttered open and met mine. A muddy shade of red, Gregory Cobriana's eyes were filled with pain, sorrow and fear. The fear struck me the most. This _boy _looked a couple of years younger that I was, too young to deserve this horror, too young to die.

Bile rose in my throat. I loved my brother, but I could not murder his killer. I could not look into the eyes of a boy terrified of death and shaking from pain and feel hatred. This was a life: serpiente yes, but a _life_; who was I steal it?

Only as I recoiled did I see the wound on his stomach, where a knife had dragged itself raggedly across the soft flesh, one of the most painful of mortal blows. The attacker must have been killed before he could finish the deed.

Perhaps my brother had held the knife. Had he lain dying alone like this afterward?

I felt a sob choke my throat and couldn't stop it. Gregory Cobriana was the enemy, but here on the battlefield he was just another brother to another sister, fallen on the field. I could not cry for my own brother; he would not want me to. But I found myself crying for this hated stranger and thee endless slaughter that I had almost contributed to.

I spun on Rei. "This is why this stupid war goes on. Because even when he's dying, you can only feel your hate," I spat, too quietly for the serpiente prince to hear me.

"if I was in this man's place, I would pray for someone to kneel by my side," I continued. "And I wouldn't care if that person was Zane Cobriana himself."

Rei knelt awkwardly beside me. For a moment, his hand touched my hand unexpectedly. His gaze met mine, and I heard him sigh quietly with understanding.

I turned back to the serpiente. "I'm here; don't fret." I said as I smoothed black hair from Gregory's face.

His eyes filled with tears and he muttered something that sounded like "Thank you." Then he looked straight up at me and said, "End it. Please."

These words made me wince. I had been thinking the same thing just moments before, but even though I knew he was asking me to stop the pain, I did not want mine to be the hand that ended another's life.

"Dani?" Rei asked worriedly when a rear fell from my eyes onto Gregory's hand.

I shook my head and wrapped my hand around Gregory's cool one. The muscles tightened, and then he was gripping my hand like it was his last anchor to earth.

When I drew the knife from my waist, Rei caught my wrist and shook his head.

Quietly, so Gregory could not hear, I argued, "It could take him hours to die like this."

"Let the hours pass," Rei answered, though I could see the muscles in his jaw tighten. "Serpiente believe in mercy killing, but not when it's the other side who does it. Not when it's the daughter of the Tuuli Thea who ends the life of one of their two surviving princes."

We sat in the field most of the day. As I had often done for dying avian soldiers, I sang to pass the time, and to distract him from the pain. The songs were about freedom. They were about children, able to play and sing and dance without worrying that they would be harmed.

The song I loved most of all, though, was the one my mother use to sing to me when I was a child, before I had been given round-the-clock nurses, maids, servants and guards. It was from long before my mother had brome a distant queen with too much dignity to show affection even to her daughter. I would have given up all the pampering and all the respect I had earned those past few years if I could have climbed into her arms and gone back to a time when I was still too young to understand that my father and now my brother had been butchered in this war, which had been going on so long nobody could tell anymore what is was about or who had started it.

I had heard of avians and serpiente who had lived five hundred years or more, but no one did that now. Not in a time when both sides slaughtered each other so frequently, and so efficiently.

The only male child that will be left to inherit the serpiente throne was Zane Cobriana, a creature whose name rarely mentioned in polite avian society, and if he died… hopefully the murderous royal house of the serpiente would die with him. Yet now that Gregory Cobriana, the youngest and last brother of out greatest enemy, would soon be dead, I could not be grateful for the loss. All I could do was sing gently the old childhood lullaby called "Hawksong" that my mother had sung to me long ago.

_I wish to you sunshine, my dear on my dear one. And treetops for you to soar past. I wish to you innocence, my child, my child. I pray you don't grow up too fast._

_Never know pain, my dear one, my dear on. Nor hunger nor fear nor sorrow. Never know was, my child, my child. Remember your hope for tomorrow._

When I finished the song we heard people coming. "Danica, need to leave. More are coming." Rei told me as he was getting into his fighting position. Gregory Cobriana had yet to take his last breath.

I looked down at his pleading eyes, begging me not to go. "I have to leave. Your people will be here soon. You wont die alone." I told him. I let go of his hand and me and my guards took flight to the Hawk's Keep.

By the time I found sleep that night, back in the Hawk's Keep, my throat was tight with too many tears unshed, screams unuttered and prayers whose words I could never seem to find.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

My mother, Lady Nacola Shardae, was like a bronze statue s she watched the pyre consume her child on Mourner's Rock. Firelight gave a copper cast to her fait skin, matching the gold of her hair and her dry eyes.

Earlier the Royal Flight had been present; they had flown the body here and built the pyre. But as the fire snapped in its last moments, only the family of the deceased remained. It made brutally plain how few of us were left.

My mother and I held silent vigil until the last ember had turned gray and the wind had whipped the ashes into the sky.

When the silence was broken, my mother's words were even and clear betraying none of the pain or anger that she must have felt. "Shardae you're not to go back to the fields," she commanded to my sister. "I know your view on the subject. I also know you will be queen soon. Your people need you." She turned and looked at me. "And the same goes to you Danica."

Among avians, the heir traditionally became queen when she carried her first child. That did not seem a likely occurrence for my sister anytime soon, bur my mother had decided it was time for power to change hands despite tradition.

"Yes, Mother." My sister replied.

My sister had been preparing to take the throne ever since her Alistair died when she was ten. My mother rarely believed in her methods. I did agreed with them completely most of the time. We both knew going to the fields was dangerous, as was visiting anyone outside the heavily defended Hawk's Keep, but how could she rule our people if she refused to leave the safety of our home? We could not know them if we never faced the world they lived in, and that included the spattered blood of the fields.

My sister, Cecilia and I are very close. We have very similar political views. We both held our tongue. This was not the time to argue.

Our mother left before I did. When she shifted form and spread her wings a black cloud seemed to rise from the cliffs above us, half a dozen ravens and crows guarding her even here. My sister left after that. She unusually dropped her avian composure and gave me a sad, sympathetic look and then she flew off. One of the two guards left with us flew off with her. He seemed to be the guard designated to her, much like Rei is to me.

I hung back a bit, hesitating on the black rock and repeating over and over the words _no time for tears_. I knew there would be no energy left for living if I grieved too deeply for each loss, bur each funeral was harder to turn from than the last.

Eventually, I forced the creeping sorrow back, until I knew I could stay composed when I faced my people, with no trace of anxiety on my face or grief or anger in my eyes.

As I lingered, a single crow detached from the rock above me. He circled once before returning to his post, assured that I was still here, standing strong.

There was nothing left to do.

As I shifted my tired human form into one with powerful wings and golden-brown feathers, I let out a shriek. Fury, pain, fear; they dissolved into the sky as I pushed myself beyond them with every smack of my wings against the air.

It was late when I returned to the Hawk's Keep, the tower that housed what was left of my family, the highest-ranking soldiers and the most prominent artisans, merchants and speakers of the avian court.

With my mother's command, the seven floors of the Keep had changed from my safe home to my prison. Instead of being a refuge from the blood and pain, the walls were suddenly a trap keeping me from reality.

With Andreios standing near in case of trouble that never occurred inside, I lingered on the first floor, fifteen feet above the ground-level courtyards and training grounds. I watched the last of the merchants pack up their belongings, some grateful to have rooms in the higher levers of the Keep, but most wary of the world they left here.

Market lasted from dawn to dusk. Merchants and storytellers would gather on this floor, along with common people, and during the day the Tuuli Thea and her heirs would go among them and listen for complaints. The artisans had nearly been strangled out of avian society by the war, but my mother had started encouraging the ones who remained to show their wares. The avian market was famous for its craftsmanship, and losing those arts would have been tragic.

Along with crafts, custom weapons and other fine luxuries, stories and gossip could be found at the market. This was where merchants, farmers and anyone else who did not fight heard all the details.

I had seen enough serpiente soldiers fallen beside out own over the years, and now, with the image of Gregory Cobriana branded into my mind, I was reminded once again that they were just as mortal as my own kind. However, fear makes all enemies more dangerous, and the stories told in the marketplace on this night were as sickening as ever.

Parents lamented their dead children. One young man broke down in tears a display of emotion quite unseemly in avian society, as he recalled his father's death. Gossip traveled like a river: how the serpiente fought like the demons that legends said they had taken their power from, how their eyes could killer you if you looked into them long enough, how…

I tried to stop listening.

My people greeted me with polite words, just as they had the day before. Another hawk child was dead, along with a dozen of the Royal Flight, a score of Ravens- another flight, just below my personal guards in rank- and eighteen common soldiers who had joined the fray when they saw their prince fall. So many dead, and nothing had changed.

"Milady?"

I turned toward the merchant who had spoken, a metal smith of good reputation. "Can I help you?"

He was wringing his hands, but stopped as soon as I spoke, his gaze dropping. When he looked up again, his face was composed. He held out a package carefully wrapped in soft leather, placing it on the counter for me to see. "My pair bond was among the Ravens who fell yesterday. I had been working on this for her, but if milady Shardae would wear it, I would be honored."

The gift he offered was a slender boot knife, etched with simple yet beautiful symbols of faith and luck.

I accepted the blade, hoping I would never need it, but saying aloud, "It is lovely. I'm sure your pair bond would appreciate that it is not going to waste."

The merchant replied, "Perhaps it might protect you when you go out again."

"Thank you, sir."

"Thank you, milady."

I turned from him with a sigh that I was careful not to let him hear. It was already too late for either side to win; this was needed to _stop_. Whatever the cost.

If only I knew how to end it.

"Shardae?"

I knew the young woman who approached me now from when we had both been children. Eleanor Lyssia was an eternal romantic, with grand dreams that I wished I could make come true. The last time I had heard from her had been a few years before, when she had just been apprenticed by a seamstress.

My smile was genuine as I greeted her warmly. "Eleanor, good evening. What brings you to the Keep?"

"I'm finally allowed to sell my work in the market," she returned brightly. "I was in charge of the shop today." The smile she wore faded to a somber expression. "I wanted to tell you… I heard what happened yesterday. With Gregory Cobriana." She shook her head. "I know none of this is proper to say, but I like to think we were friends when we were children?" I nodded, and she continued, "When I heard what had happened, it gave me hope. If the heir to the throne can put aside the past and just comfort a dying man… perhaps anything is possible."

She looked away, suddenly awkward.

"Thank you Eleanor." The prospect made me want to laugh and to cry; I settled on a tired smile. I did meet her gaze; I hoped she saw my gratitude. "Fly with grace."

"You as well, milady."

We parted ways, and now Andreios moved to my side. As always, he knew when I needed to escape. His presence would dissuade anyone else from approaching before I could do so. I wondered if he had heard Eleanor's Words, but we did not speak before we both shifted from to fly above the market to the higher levels of the Keep.

Andreios stopped at the fifth floor, where his flight was quartered; I continued to the sixth. I passed the door to my brother's room and whispered a final goodbye before I entered my own.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

I was a child, unversed yet in politics. The first thing that interested me in the court was a representative from the shm'ahnmik, a group not allied with my mother, the Tuuli Thea. He was a falcon boy only a few years older than me, twelve to my eight. I was too young to know that my playmate made my mother very nervous, or that he was in the Keep for any reason different from the other children's. Too young to know that he represented an empire older and stronger than our own, without whose support we would never be able to keep our heads above water when fighting the serpiente.

I was a child, with no responsibilities, no understanding of politics, war or pain. So I remember the falcon very fondly, as my last memory of childhood.

One of my tutors stepped out to speak with my mother in the hallway. "Milady Shardae, have you seen Andreios?" I looked up, hearing the name of my friend despite the tutor's attempt at discretion. "I'm worried that he's gone out to the field… to look for his father."

I was too young to understand death, but I understood that my friend was upset and so I had to find him.

I stood to sneak out before my mother returned. I had known Rei all eight years of my life, since he was three years old and I was newly born. He would listen to me more than anyone else. The falcon tried to stop me from leaving, but he had no authority over me and I refused to reason.

My first breath of death hit me as I flew over the field. Yes, I knew of the war, but I had never seen the carnage up close, smelled the blood before… and in the middle of it all, my friend Rei, hunched protectively over his gather's body, crying.

I landed at his side.

I hardly had a chance to speak before the serpent appeared. Rei pushed me behind him; they scuffled, and I saw the fangs slice into my friend's skin. Someone else attacked me from behind, but when I fought back, I was struggling with something as harmless as a wool blanket.

I realized suddenly that I was dreaming a scene I relived in my mind almost every night. I had been knocked out; Rei had saved my life. His brush with death had changed him, forcing him to grow up faster. After that day he had made a point of training. He had joined the avian army when he was thirteen and the Royal Flight when he was fifteen, and he had been the captain of that group for three years now.

Despite knowing I was asleep, I could not wake. Lucid dreams had been a curse of mine for years.

I walk the battlegrounds in my mind, through the woods and fields that I had been drawn to ever since Rei's father dies. Pain, bloodshed, war. They had stained me that day.

I walked from the dream of Andreios to one of my Alistair, the man who had been promised as my protector when we were both barely more than infants. Vasili had frightened me a little when I was a girl; he had seemed so cold and strong. The blood I saw in my dreams, he saw ever day as a soldier. Yet I learned to understand him, and then I learned to love him- just in time to lose him, like I had so many others.

I pushed the phantom away and found myself face to face with the garnet eyes of Zane Cobriana, the creature whose kind was responsible for every loss we suffered, every tear I held inside. My breath halted in my lungs; my blood turned to ice. I felt my throat constrict as I tried to scream-

"Danica, are you alright?"

I opened my eyes to find Rei searching the room for whatever had frightened me. His thick black hair had been hastily pulled back from his face as if he had been roused from sleep. He was suppose to be on duty until this afternoon, but I was grateful he had been the one to hear me shout.

"Yes," I said, but the trembling in my voice belied my answer.

"Dream?" he asked. Rei was the only one to whom I confided my nightmares.

I nodded, sitting up. Morning was here, and if Rei was, too, then there was something important to be done.

Rei cleared his throat. "Your mother wants you to meet her downstairs, as soon as you are ready."

He left me to change which I did quickly. My mother did not summon me for meaningless trifles.

I stepped outside my room to find the Hawk's Keep swarming with avian soldiers. In addition to Andreios, there were five other guards next to my door alone. Our on the field, I understood this kind of caution. Inside the Keep, It was unheard of.

"My mother isn't hurt?" I asked with alarm, my mind latching on to the worst possible reason for this concern.

"She's safe," Rei answered, though he didn't sound as if he was completely certain. "The rest of the flight is with her and your sister."

Of course. "Then why the sudden jump in security?" And, before he could answer, And who in the world is guarding the outside.

"There are about two dozen soldiers ringing the courtyard, and another few dozen in the surrounding land," one of the other guards assured me.

"They're good fighters. As for your other question," Rei answered, "we seen to have a visitor, which is why your mother requested your presence in the first place."

I had become used to having one or two guards at my sides, occasionally more if I was farther from the Keep on one of the fields. Having this many was unnerving, even though the Royal Flight were trained to work smoothly. They kept out of my way and out of each other's, but the press of their bodies in the hall was oppressive in itself. What kind of visitor required so many members of the royal guard to be in the loftiest halls of the Hawk's keep? No one so much as go inside unnoticed. To get all the way to my chamber would be impossible.

My alarm jumped again when I realized that the guards who had preceded me had changed shape to descend to the ground floor. As a deterrent to flightless enemies, there were no stairs from the ground to the first floor. Aside from criminals and traitors, even the lowest sparrow commoner was met in the second-floor reception hall.

"Who _is _visitor?" I inquired softly. "Zane Cobriana himself?"

Rei did not joke back with me. He waited for me to shift into my second form, hastening what was usually a leisurely, pleasant process so that the hawk who emerged was more than a little ruffled.

My mother was standing with her back to us as we entered the enclosed courtyard. The visitor was seated cross-legged on the ground nearby, with her eyes closed as if she was taking a nap. Four of our guards surrounded her, showing just how afraid we were to have her near our queen.

Even from across the courtyard I could recognize the black hair and fair skin. As I went closer I saw her silky black dress with the white emblem sewn onto the low neckline between her breasts. On her left hand she wore an onyx signet ring.

Either she heard our quiet approach, or she sensed us some other way, for the visitor opened her eyes just then. Suddenly my cool, golden gaze was met directly by her hot flame, the color reminiscent of pure polished rubies. I looked away quickly, a shudder twisting its way up my spine.

"She's here in peace," my mother assured me immediately, but I could hear the "or so she said" in her voice even though she didn't speak it aloud. "Irene, may I introduce my daughter, Danica Shardae? Danica, this is Irene Cobriana, younger sister to Zane." My sister had already been seated and introduced, no doubt.

My skin chilled just hearing the name, but I answered the introduction politely. _What is this creature doing here? _I was willing to comfort Gregory Cobriana on the field, but he had been dying. Seeing Irene, alive and well and dangerous, I felt less charitable.

No doubt the guards had searched her and taken away what weapons they could-probably none, if this ruse was meant to gain our trust. But everyone knew you couldn't disarm a Cobriana unless you took its life. Their scarlet eyes alone were a weapon, not to mention their poison, which could kill in less than a minute if they struck in full serpent form, and which would kill more slowly but more painfully if they did so in a less pure form.

Irene Cobriana spoke first, for which I was grateful. If I had opened my mouth, I probably could have caused a war with what I had said, if it had not, been too late already.

"We want peace," Irene said softly, not rising. In case she tried to stand, the guards were prepared to kill her instantly. "We're tired of the fighting, and the killing."

Someone grumbled; I thought it might be Rei. My mother directed a frosty glare at someone behind me.

Irene also looked up at whoever had made the sound, and her voice rose with anger as she argued, "I have lost my father to this war. Two uncles. Two brother. A few years ago, I lost a sister and a niece at the same time when some avian soldier put a knife into her belly and killed both her and the child she was carrying. My mother is a good woman, but she is only Naga, and the people will not follow someone who is only Cobriana by name. They need their Diente. And Zane is the heir to that title." Her voice quieted again.

"Excuse me if we don't completely trust you, Irene," my sister said simply. "But you kind has not been known to uphold its word in the past."

Irene lowered her head, and I could tell she was trying to speak around her anger. "Gregory Cobriana almost died two nights ago," she answered quietly. She looked at me as she said the words.

_Almost? _I thought to myself.

"He is only seventeen," she continued. "He was stabbed in the stomach- a slow and painful wound. And when he was dying on the field he told of a beautiful woman- an avian- who sang to him while he was dying." I hoped my mother or sister could not see the shock in my face. "I came here, without weapons, with the hope that someone might listen. Zane wanted to come himself, but my mother argued that you would sooner put a knife in his back than listen to anything he had to say. And do you know what he replied? He said, 'Let them. If they do, someone might finally be satisfied that they've won this war, and then maybe it will end.' I would not have thought that peace between out people possible if not for what my brother had said."

I barely managed to hold my tongue in response to that claim. Zane Cobriana was what the serpiente called an Arami, the prince first in line to the throne. Now that his father was dead, he was all but king. It was hard for me to imagine the leader of the serpiente saying anything remotely tolerable, much less blatantly self-sacrificing.

Anyone who had spent enough time in the court had heard about the exploits of Zane Cobriana. In battle, it was said, he fought with single-minded fury, and a speed and grace no avian could match. He could catch the eye of his opponent, and that warrior would drag his knife across his own throat in a killing blow. He fought beside his people in battle and had never been wounded. Whispered rumor attributed his power to black magic and demons.

"And what exactly is … Zane … proposing?" my mother asked, hesitating for a fraction of a second before she spoke the name, as if worried the word alone would soil the Hawk's keep.

"A truce." Irene answered instantly. "Zane, Gregory, my mother and I would like to meet with you, your, and whatever others you think necessary."

"And just where is this meeting to take place?" my mother asked skeptically.

"Before the Mistari Disa." Irene answered softly. She took a breath and then explained, "The serpiente have been fighting so long, their only reason for continuing now is to avenge the loss of so many of their kin to avian fighter. They don't trust the avians, and I think it would take quite a show of good faith from your people to convince ours that the Tuuli Thea is as honest in her desire to stop the fighting as their Naga and Arami are.

I bit my tongue to keep from demanding just what kind of "shoe of good faith: Irene was suggesting. When she spoke, my sister said much the same. "I take it Zane sent you as a show of faith from your side," She said. "What is he asking in return?"

Irene shook her head. "Only that you agree to meet with us on peaceful lands before the Mistari Disa. We would like to appeal to her for support of the peace talks, and whatever is involved in those."

My mother looked at Cecilia. "Shardae?"

I thought she was going to object instantly, but she had a thoughtful look on her face. I remembered Gregory Cobriana's blood on my hands. I remembered the battlefields, the reek and the wail of war. I remembered my own Alistair, Vasili, who had once been promised as my husband. And my own brother, who had been no older than the enemy he had taken with him into death.

Cecilia's reply was soft, but not without emotion. "I do not trust them, mother, but if there is any chance that they might be honest, that Zane Cobriana might want peace…" She took a breath. The very thought that Zane would ever waste a breath for peace was unnerving. "Then I believe we should take it." More quietly she added, "You know that I would do anything within my power to stop this war."

My mother nodded, "Danica, Andreios, your thoughts?"

I replied quickly, before Rei could say anything. "I agree one hundred percent with Shardae."

The leader of the royal guard paused, looking at Irene. "I don't like it, but Mistari lands are neutral territory. Even a cobra would be mad to try to ambush us there; the Mistari would tear the serpents apart."

"Very well, then." The Tuuli Thea gestured for Irene to stand and held up a hand to silence the guards' protests. "Irene, please relay the message to your … prince that we would be willing to meet him."

"Thank you, Nacola," Irene said warmly, informally enough that I saw a guard wince. She looked directly at Cecilia as she added, "Zane asked me to convey our willingness to meet any day, any time, as soon as is possible. Please speak a date, and I will tell my brother."

Again, my mother conferred briefly with Andreios, and then she answered, "In a fortnight, on the first showing of the moon. It will take that long for us to organize our people."

If the serpiente left the instant Irene returned to the palace and were willing to ride their horses to exhaustion, their party would probably make the deadline. The serpiente would not have time to plan a sneak attack before the meeting.

Irene curtsied, her face showing no annoyance at the rush my mother was pressing her people with. "Thank you, Nacola, Cecilia, Danica. My best withes go with you both until then."


	4. Chapter 4

Sorry this one was late getting up. In this one you really start to see some changes. Also, Danica is a little bit of a badass in this story.

Chapter 4

My insides coiled in expectation of disaster as I made last-minute preparation for our trip to Mistari lands. I was surprised my mother is letting me come. I would have thought it would be just Cecilia. I knew the tigers would nor allow anyone to bring warfare to their land, but I could not help fearing that this was a trap- just like the one that had taken my father from me. He had received a forged message from my aunt, who lived outside the Keep, saying that she was dying and wanted her brother by her side. The ambush had taken them both from me in the same day.

Andreios had spent the two weeks all but avoiding me so he would not have to face another interrogation about the Keep's defenses, though besides small, unplanned skirmishes caused by chance meetings of our two kinds, there had been no battles since Irene Cobriana's visit.

It was only a matter of time.

"Milady? A problem?" I turned trying not to glare at the sparrow who delivered the message.

"Can it wait? We need to leave."

The sparrow shook her head. "The Tuuli Thea told me only that you need to speak to the Ravens before you leave for the Mistari lands."

Flanked by Andreios and five of his soldiers, I landed in the yard where the Ravens trained, a short flight from the Hawk's Keep.

The guilty looks a few of them tried to hide at my arrival did not bode well. The commander, a woman named Karashan, who seemed more sinew than muscle and whose arms bore many scars from her lifelong profession, approached me.

"Lady Shardae, to what do we owe this honor?"

"I was told there was some talk among your soldiers that I should be aware of," I answered honestly.

Karashan did not look away from my gaze, but she hesitated. "Well, milady-"

"Milady, thank the sky you're here," one of the younger soldiers said, giving a hasty bow before he began. "With all respect to my commander, the orders we've been given are mad-"

I could not hear the rest of his words over the murmur that started then. I held up a hand shaking my head. "Your orders are to hold off, to defend the Keep if it is attacked but not to instigate anything. Correct?" I asked once the chaos had died down.

The commander answered, "Yes, milady. But surely there is some mistake? We'll be sitting here like lame turkeys when the serpiente attack."

I heard one of Rei's people fidget behind me.

My voice was calm, but my eyes were cold as I answered, "We are going to a meeting to discuss peace, Karashan."

The Raven shook her head. "I mean no disrespect, milady, but I have been a soldier for seventy years. Serpiente do not know the meaning of peace- or honor. If we do not attack soon and flush out whatever they have planned, you can be sure we will find snakes in our own beds."

I resisted the urge to glance at Rei in a plea for assistance. This had to come from me alone.

"Karashan, you have your orders. They come from the Tuuli Thea and have been repeated by her heir- I do not see why I have to repeat them as well. Do you plan to obey them?"

She hesitated.

"Do I need to remove you from your position to ensure you will not do anything foolish while my family is in Mistari lands?"

"No, milady." she finally answered, voice soft. "I will not give the order to attack. But, milady… if you do not let them move soon, my flight might not wait for my word. They are restless."

I nodded. "I trust you to keep them under control, Karashan. And if you cannot, I trust you to bring word to my mother or sister or me before they take action. Understood?"

"Yes, milady."

I returned to the Keep feeling like a stone plummeting toward I knew not what. I ran my hands through my hair, trying not to look flustered in front of the Royal Flight.

"Shardae?"

I returned to see Karl, one of the few members of the Royal Flight who was my age, watching me with worried eyes. "Yes, Karl?"

"I will obey your orders as always, milady," he assured me, "but what if Karashan is right? You yourself agreed to go to the Mistari camps because there was a slim chance the serpiente might be sincere-so you, too, must know they probably are not. Isn't this too great a risk?"

I shook my head. "If they attack, we will defend ourselves as we have after every serpiente plat in the past. But if they don't, then maybe we can find a way to make peace. Isn't the possibility of your children never having to fight worth the risk?"

Karl nodded. "My trust is with you, milady."

I hoped I was worthy of it.

Before we could speak more on the subject, we were approached by the Mistari's avian representative, Mikkal, who had arrived earlier in the day to guide us into the foreign territory. "Are you ready to go, Lady Shardae?"

I sighed lightly, by nodded. "My mother and sister?"

"They are waiting downstairs for you," he answered.

We joined the rest of our group: my mother, Andreios and two others from the Royal Flight. The Mistari Disa and Dio, their queen and king, had limited our number to five. We had been assured that the serpiente would bring the same. Shortly we were off to Mistari lands, with Mikkal in the lead.

The journey was not an easy one, even though my form was one of the strongest an avian could boast. The young goshawk was an extraordinary flier, and he set a hard pace. Once we had crossed the water and were over the sweltering Mistari lands, the trip was decidedly unpleasant.

The central city of the Mistari, if it could be called such, was surrounded by a natural ring of high stones. Inside those walls, the tiger of the Mistari tribes slept during the hottest hours of the day. Though the group had only been in this area for forty or fifty years, since they had been driven out of Asia by the ever-spreading human population, they had already crafted sturdy walls where the granite mounds were too widely spaced or not high enough for their liking. Built into these walls and stones were the structures where the Mistari lived and slept, some grand and brightly decorated, and sine a little more than tents held aloft by simple stone piles.

In the center of the ring, one of the giant boulders had been carefully hollowed out and decorated with carvings of each Mistari leader, including the Mistari Disa and Dio. This was their simple palace-the reception hall, where we would meet with the serpiente before the king and queen of these people, and chambers where the royal family slept.

Our group was instantly surrounded when we landed and sighted into human form, but the natives relaxed when they recognized us. :The Disa and Dio are waiting inside the reception hall," a tigress told us. "The others are already there."

We were hustled through the tall grasses and toward the grand stone structure that was the heart of the Mistari territories.

Most of the Mistari stopped outside, but the tigress who had greeted us initially gently pushed aside the ornate silk weavings that hung in the doorway, and invited us into the hall.

The hall was more dimly lit than outside, but carefully cut windows shrouded with white silk let in enough light to show the brilliance of the Mistari palace. The floor was black stone, polished until it shone, and the smooth granite walls were decorated with an intricate mural of the African Serengeti. Brightly colored pillows formed seats on the floor, several of which were taken by the royal family's servants. Slightly raised on a red and black granite dais sat the Mistari Disa and Dio.

All of those individuals quickly lost my interest. Within moments my attention was locked on another group, whose members were seared on the opposite side of the hall from our party.

Irene Cobriana smiled wryly when I glanced at her, but already my gaze had moved on. Gregory Cobriana, and his surprised eyes looking at me. I had not known he would be here. From his expression I'm guessing he didn't know I was going to be here either. I looked quickly away. Another woman, wearing dark burgundy, sat nearby. Her hair tumbled to her waist, a waterfall of onyx strands, and as she turned to look my way, I avoided her startling sapphire eyes. Charis Cobriana, Naga of the serpiente. The python might not have a cobra's power, but it was never a good idea to meet a serpent's gaze.

There were three others who sat with them, one female and two male. The first man was lightly built, with ash-brown hair cut short. The woman was slender, with blond hair that was tied at the nape of her neck before falling silkily down her back. They had the casual poise and obvious attention of guards. The male guard lingered near Irene, and the female near the man, who could be none other than the Arami of the serpiente.

Zane Cobriana lounged on a cushion, his back resting against the wall, one leg bent and the other strait. The iridescent shimmer of his black slacks led me to wonder which of his kind he had skimmed. His shoulders were broader than those of a common avian man, and in the position in which he sat, the black material of his shirt was pulled taut across his chest. On his left hand I could see the onyx signet ring. For a moment he was absolutely still, then he looked up unerringly caught my gaze. Twin pools of fire, a shade of red brighter than Irene's, held me tight. Time seemed to freeze for an eternity. Then his eyes released mine and flickered down my body, a quick scan that brought heat to my face.

Andreios had caught my arm. With a glare at the serpiente prince, Rei escorted me to my seat, blocking Zane from my sight.

_We're here to make peace with _that? I thought frantically. My hands were cold, my face still hot. If he could affect me that strongly from across the room, without saying a word, how would I ever dare to approach him civilly?

The Mistari Disa stood and held up her hands for silence among her own people. The hush dragged my attention away from the serpiente leaders and back to the Mistari queen.

"I already know that this isn't going to be easy," the Disa began. "But so long as both of you are willing to make an effort, there is always a chance for peace."

There was some grumbling between the serpiente guards, but Zane and Irene both shot them searing looks, and they quieted.

The Disa spoke first to the serpiente. "Charis, you are Naga are you not?"

Charis Cobriana nodded, but then answered aloud, "I am, but my Diente is dead. Zane hasn't taken the throne yet, but you should address him as our leader."

"Zane have you not taken a mate?"

Zane raised fiery eyes to the Mistari Disa. "Taking a mate in the middle of this war would be giving a death sentence to a woman in return for her love. I've learned from experience that even a woman with child is not safe from the killing, not when she's carrying a cobra's blood."

The Disa took a breath, nodded and then turned to my mother. "And among your people, Nacola, whom should I address as your leader?"

"My daughter," my mother answered. "Cecilia Shardae. She will soon be queen."

"How soon?" the Disa asked gently, and Cecilia's head lowered. My mother had prepared her to take the throne, but she was still uneasy about the prospect.

My mother blinked and answered hesitantly, "my daughter has no Alistair. The one she was raised with was killed in this war, and since Shardae is now old enough, I want her to choose her own, When I said soon I simply meant…" She paused, then gathered her thoughts and answered her honestly, "I am tired of this war, tired of being queen. My daughter still has faith, and if anyone is strong enough to lead us to peace, it is her. She will be appointed Tuuli Thea on her next birthday."

The Disa nodded again. "Cecilia, Zane, both of you have come here, asking for peace. Both of your families are willing to follow you. Why do you need our help?"

Zane spoke first. "Even if every one of us wants peace, our people would rather fight than be taken by surprise. Among my own guards," he said glancing at his blond companion, "there is strong doubt as to how fat we can trust the avians, and among many of my people there is even speculation as to why I would want to make peace."

"The Disa looked to Cecilia next, and she could only agree with Zane. "We were barely able to control our soldiers these last two weeks. They don't believe the serpiente can be trusted, and unless we either give them permission to fight again, or we find some way to convince them that the Cobriana family and their people really want peace, my mother and I won't have the power to keep them from going against us."

The Disa sighed and looked at her husband. The conferred quietly for a few minutes, and then it was the Dio who spoke to us.

"You are both saying that your people doubt your sincerity, and the other side's sincerity," the Dio paraphrased. "You two ate their leaders, and if you can set the example and show them how much you are willing to give for this peace, they will follow." He paused and then looked at Cecilia. "The question then is, how much are you willing to give?"

I thought about all the battlefields, all the death and women I had seen, all the dying children and fathers and mother I had held and sung to. I thought about my dead Alistair, Vasili, about my brother, Xavier, and about Gregory Cobriana begging me to stop the pain.

And Cecilia answered, "Anything."

A breath later, Zane echoed my response with, "Everything."

The Disa took over again. "When you have hatred, you need to start with the heart to mend it. Similarly, when you have a rift between two peoples as great as you have, the only way to bridge the gap is to start at the center."

I glanced at Zane, wondering if he understood the Disa's advice better than I did. His eyes were narrowed slightly, as if he had an idea where this was going but didn't much like it.

"You came for our advice. All I can send you away with is this: You can only sew shut a tip by making the two sides one again. Danica Shardae, Zane Cobriana, you said you would give up anything, everything, to stop the war." She looked at me, at Zane, and then she spoke to both of us. "Never ask your people to do something you do not have the courage, or the determination, to do. If you want peace, start between the two of you."

The Disa spoke to the entire hall as she concluded, "The best advice I can offer is this: Tie the two royal families. Make the two sides into one. If you are willing to trust each other, and willing to put aside your anger and your hatred, then Zane Cobriana, take Cecilia Shardae as your mate. Cecilia Shardae, have Zane Cobriana as your Alistair."

One of the Royal Flight, whom I recognized as Adam, was the first to jump to his feet to protest, though the female guard shouted out not a moment after. Even my mother's voice rose, at the same time that Charis Cobriana stood. Zane's voice climbed above the others, saying, "I think that's an absurd idea," while my own objections were frozen in my throat. I noticed that Cecilia hadn't said anything yet either. I saw Gregory Cobriana lean in close to Zane and whisper in his ear. I saw his brow furrow as he looked to me. I glanced away before I could be caught in his stare.

Again the Disa held up her hands for silence, and one of the other Mistari touched Charis's arm and told her to sit. Another guard was doing the same to Andreios.

The Disa's voice was soft, almost sad, as she asked, "If you, the leaders of your people, are unwilling to make amends, then how can you expect your warriors to do so?" More loudly, she told the hall, "Stay here for the night, think on my words-"

Cecilia's voice interrupted. "I'm afraid that is not possible." Everyone went quiet as she spoke. "I am carrying a child." I tried to hide my surprise, though I think unsuccessfully. I could even see the surprise on my mother's face. "I was going to make the announcement when I was named Tuuli Thea and claimed my Alistair."

I saw the female, serpiente guard smirk triumphantly.

"Dismissed all of you." the Disa commanded. "You may return tomorrow at sunset if you wish to do so. For now, seek your beds, rest and tomorrow things will be settled."

Just like that, we were barred from the hall. The Disa and Dio left their dais as we were ushered out by Mistari guards and escorted to the rooms in which we would by staying.

A young Mistari girl brought water to wash with, as well as an assortment of cheeses, fruit and warm, freshly baked brown bread, I was grateful that the Mistari had thought not to serve meant, since like most of my kind avoided it.

Rei stopped in to check on me once, and I had to assure him repeatedly that I would be fine before he calmed down.

He paused at the doorway and then turned back to me. "Dani, goodnight."

"Goodnight, Rei," I answered with a bit of a sigh.

Then he was gone, and I was alone again, with only the flickering orange light of a solitary candle for company.

I lay back on the soft fur sleeping pallet and watched the light dance on the ceiling.


	5. Chapter 5

Sorry it took so long to put this up. My computer broke. It's fixed now. :)

Hawksong 5

A chill down my spine and a flicker of darkness in the corner of my vision announced his presence, even before the figure emerged from the shadows.

Still wearing black snakeskin pants and a black shirt that I now recognized as silk, the cobra terrified me just by being in the room. Pure primal instinct forced to my feet. The back of my neck tingled, gold eyes dilated to catch every hint of light and every inch of skin was suddenly hypersensitive. My heartbeat had jumped instantly, until I could hear it as a near buzz in my ears. I do know how to defend myself. I have been training with the guards for almost as long as Rei has. And as I can defeat most of my opponents, I am not naive enough to think that I can defeat Zane Cobriana.

"What do you want?" I asked choking back a cry for my guards. Zane Cobriana would not by stupid enough to kill me in Mistari lands.

Would he? Besides, wouldn't he want to kill my sister instead of me? Or had he done that already?

I could not read his expression as he collapsed gracefully onto one of the large pillows that lined the room. "I decided that you and I should talk," he stated simply, his voice no louder than my own. "Sit down, Danica. I'm not going to ravage or bite you or whatever it is you're thinking."

I forced myself to sit, my legs folded under me in the fine linen slacks I had et to replace with nightclothes. My heartbeat had slowed slightly, but I could still feel the pulse in my temple and at my wrists. "Talk?"

"We were thrown out of the Mistari hall quite abruptly," he explained, "and in all likelihood the same will happen tomorrow unless we have some discussion prior."

"Continue," I said slowly, trying to keep the tremor from my voice.

"Did you know there are four guards outside your door, Danica?" Zane inquired. My expression must have appeared surprised, because he continued, "I thought not. The Mistari added their own people to yours. They're all incompetent really, or I wouldn't be here, but it would have been tricky to catch you alone tomorrow."

"It's late, Zane and I am very tired," I sighed, my unease and fatigue joining to make me impatient. "What is it you want to talk about?"

"About life," Zane replied lightly. Before I could speak, he went on, "And about death. About the fact that my people mean more to me than anything else, and I would do almost anything to end this foolish war. I want to talk about the world, and most specifically, about you."

It took me two tries to ask, "Me?"

Zane sighed heavily. "Of course you. If the Mistari Disa's proposal is even to be considered, I would like to know what I would be getting myself into."

"What are you talking about? The Mistari Disa's proposal is impossible. My sister is pregnant and cannot be pair bonded with you." I knew the confusion on my face was obvious. "And why aren't you talking to my sister about this? She will be the Tuuli Thea after all."

"It is true that I can't be with your sister," Zane said. He seemed to be picking his words carefully. "Though that does not mean the rest of her family is taken as well. I hear you do not have an Alistair either." He looked at me as he said that last part.

"What?" Was all I could say.

"I would prefer to talk about this with you, instead of your sister. If you were to become my Naga, it would have to be your choice, not your sisters. I do not believe that our peoples can become one.," Zane continued. "but perhaps we can live in peace. And I'm not saying I'll go along with this plane, but it does have some potential."

There were no words to express my emotions in that moment, though I am sure they bordered between pure terror and helpless fascination. The Disa's suggestion was impossible… but this one? "And what exactly do you think you are 'getting yourself into'?" I inquired distastefully. Before this conversation went any further, I thought it best to have some kind of idea of where Zane intended it to go, since he had surely come here with some hidden purpose.

Again his gaze flickered down my form. "If it was just your body, Danica I would agree very quickly," he stated calmly, and despite my fine upbringing, I was not ignorant enough to keep a blush from my face. He continues, sounding slightly resigned, "But one doesn't chose a life's partner for form, and the simple fact is that your mind comes as part of the deal-and _that _is a part of you that despite years of musing over it, I have yet to fathom."

_Years? _I did not care for the sound of his phrasing.

"I thought I understood you, once" he continued. "Beautiful and arrogant and blind to suffering. And I had almost learned to hate you. But then I heard that the pristine Danica Shardae had knelt in the blood and filth of the battlefield and held my brother's hand and sung to him so he would not die alone. I would not have thought this possible if my brother had not told me himself. It made me think that perhaps you might have a heart after all."

I jumped when he reached toward me, belatedly recognizing the movement the movement as something casual, a mere gesture while he spoke. His hand froze, as he had not even realized he had moved until I reacted, and then it balled into a fist.

Zane was on his feet instantly. "Damn it, Danica." he hissed, his voice soft but full of impatience. "I'm not going to hurt you."

I stood as soon as I felt Zane's temper, stepping back from the serpiente. Fear made my voice venomous as I responded, "Forgive me if I find it difficult to completely trust the man who has had so many of my kind killed."

"If I wanted to hurt you, I would have done it already," Zane replied bluntly. "I didn't have the slightest bit of difficulty slipping past your guards. Your avian heart beats almost a hundred times a minute at rest. Poison from a cobra's bite would reach your brain within seconds, so quickly you would never have a chance to cry out." His red eyes flashed with challenge, daring me to contradict him. "Trust me, little avian, when I say that if I wanted you dead, you would have been dead long ago. I wouldn't have bothered to set up this whole meeting with the Mistari. I would have broken into your room in the dark of night and smothered you with that Chinese silk pillow that you keep on top of the trunk at the foot of your bed."

"_What?" _My voice was very faint, with shock this time instead of fear.

I knew that he was only pretending to misunderstand when he said, elaboration, "You know the one I mean-gold and red silk, with flying black and silver dragons. Beautiful, obviously handcrafted-"

"Who told you about it?" I demanded, my fear jelling with anger to form a well-practiced surface of calm.

Zane raised an eyebrow as he collapsed back onto the cushion on the floor. "About the silk pillow? Or maybe about the white woolen blanket you sleep with in colder weather, which is as soft as new down, and the heavy tapestry that hangs across the open balcony doors in good weather."

My voice was lodged in my throat. "How…"

"I've been there," he answered simply. "I've seen it. The Hawk's Keep isn't the easiest place in the world to sneak into, but I have a talent for such things. I nearly got myself caught the first time, trying to figure out how to get to the first floor, but luckily avian guards don't often look _up _for an enemy. From there, there are servant staircases. You don't even keep your door locked, Danica."

_I will now._

Finally he lowered his gaze, and I let out the breath I had been holding. "You're making this up." It wasn't possible he could have gotten by the Royal Flight. And no matter what time of the night, someone would have seen him in the halls.

"You really think so?" Zane sounded amused. "The first time I saw you, Danica, I was sixteen. I had just lost the first of my brothers in an avian attack. Someone-I don't remember who- told me you had just turned fifteen. For your birthday, my brother died." Despite the words, his voice remained calm, tired. "I rode a horse to the old Desmondus paths, and then cut through the woods. It was an hour or so after midnight when I found myself at your bedside. I meant to kill you."

"And why didn't you?"

"Sit down, Danica," Zane requested, in almost a sigh. "Do you have even the faintest idea how beautiful you are?" When I did not respond, he closed his eyes, as if picturing a long-ago memory. "You were fifteen. Only a year younger than I was. You were wearing white lambskin pants, and a blouse made of fur-lined cotton. I assumed you had fallen asleep before preparing for bed." He shook his head, opening his eyes. "I remember thinking you were as striking as the chaste Greek goddess of the hunt. I was young. And I wasn't a killer-not then anyway. I had never killed before, and I couldn't start by destroying something so exquisite. I reached out to touch your cheek."

I was trapped in the cool voice and hypnotic eyes. As Zane spoke, he reached out, brushing fingertips over the soft skin of my cheek. His hands were cool but not cold, the touch as light as a snowflake's kiss. Even the contact of skin on skin, so unusual among my own kin, could not pull me from the spell.

"You cried out in your sleep and pulled away from me, And then I saw the cut on your cheek, right here, Your arm hand another slice, like you had been in a fight." As he spoke, he traced the phantom injuries, which had long since healed. I suddenly knew exactly the time he was speaking about, remembering as if it had been yesterday: It was the day Vasili was killed. Only quick action from the rest of the Royal Flight and the defensive tactics Rei had taught me had saved my own life.

Zane's voice pulled me from my thought. "For a moment I wanted more than anything just to take you into my arms, but you had pulled away from me once already, and I was afraid of frightening you. I told myself I hated you." His voice remained gentle despite the words, as he trailed fingers through my hair. "But it wasn't true. You weren't responsible for the fighting. You weren't able to stop it any more than I was."

"Why are you telling me this?" My voice seemed very far away.

Zane spilled onto his knees, which brought him closer to me; my breath hitched sharply with surprise, but the way I was sitting kept me from jumping away.

"You didn't start this war, Danica, and neither did I." Zane stated. "It's been going on for so long it's meaningless; people fight because they don't know what else to do. People fight because their leaders fight, and then their leaders fight, and then their leaders are killed, so they have more reason to go on." His hands touched mine as if he could not help but reach out. "Danica, my sister Irene is carrying a child. She was white with fear when she told my. It's an event that should bring joy… but everyone in my family just remembers an avian soldier plunging his knife into my oldest sister's swollen belly." I started to speak, but he put a finger against my lips. "No apology is necessary from you, Danica." Again the gentle caress of hands running through my hair as he explained, "I am going back to the royal hall tomorrow evening. My mother, sister and guards will not be there to argue with the Disa and me. I hope you'll be there, and that your's listen to what she has to say. What I suggested… it might work. I'm just asking you to give the idea a chance."

Giving that particular idea a chance sounded akin to giving suicide a chance, and I knew Zane saw my hesitation.

"Please, Danica," he said. "You sang to my brother of peace and hope. I can't believe that you aren't as desperate for those things as I am. Just… try."

Somehow, I found myself nodding. "I will try," I answered finally. He ignored my uncertainty.

"Thank you." He stepped forward so suddenly, his lips a brief, gossamer touch on my cheek, that I let out an unintended cry.

That shout, louder than our hushed voices, brought two of the Royal Flight instantly into the room.

Zane tensed, backing away from me as well as from my guards, and I could see his garnet eyes flashing as they looked for a way out. Insanely, I stepped between Zane the Royal Flight, though Rei moved forward as if to stop me.

"There's no trouble here," I assured him, my gaze cool with the warning not to challenge me on this point. "I was just about to escort Zane out, anyway."

I felt Zane's tension lessen, but even so, the feel of him behind me made the feathers on the back of my neck rise.

"Zane?" I prompted, praying silently that he would not cause trouble now.

"Thank you for speaking with me at such a late hour, Danica," Zane answered smoothly, his voice as polished as my own, betraying none of the emotion of moments ago. However, his movements were cool and languid, almost lazy- dangerous. Everyone who had seen serpiente fight knew that they could strike as quickly as the snakes that were their second forms. They appeared so graceful and slow that you felt like you should have eternity to move, but you never did.

He was prepared to fight. Despise any noble words he might have said to his sister before she came to the Hawk's Keep, if the Royal Flight attacked him, he would fight back.

The posture almost made me refuse when he offered his arm, but his eyes still held a glimmer of hope, begging me to help him keep this from becoming a battle, so I swallowed my fear and forced myself to accept.

The guard on my side stepped back to allow us to pass, but Zane had to shoulder past Rei on his way out; the crow directed at Zane a look that would have wilted most enemies in their tracks. Instead, Zane caught Rei's glare, wrapped and arm around my waist and kissed me again.

I was too shed at first to respond. In the time it took me to blink and Rei to stride forward with murder in his eyes, Zane had already stepped back, his gaze turning from Rei to me as he nodded a polite good evening, changed shape and disappeared.

Rei scanned the area around us as he demanded of me, "Are you all right?"

"He simply wanted to talk about tomorrow's discussion with the Disa," I answered honestly. "He was perfectly polite."

Rei looked skeptical, and the coolness in his tone as he asked, "Really?" reminded me that what he had seen had most certainly not been "perfectly polite."

"He was perfectly polite until you provoked him, I amended, voice hard.

"I see," Rei said, and this time the unspoken question in his words came through to me and my cheeks colored.

I turned on my heel to return to my room; childhood friend or no, I did not need to justify myself to my guard, and on this subject I would not do so.

As I walked into my room, I heard Rei say, "Inform the Tuuli Thea. Shardae!" he called, following me in. "Danica, wait. Please. I just did one of the stupidest things I have ever done: I intentionally got into a glaring match with a serpiente. And during those moments, he could have killed you. Do you understand? You might have seen a show of serpiente bravado from a fellow monarch trying to unnerve your guards. I saw him grabbing you, cobra fangs practically brushing against your skin, as I stood there _unable to move._

I sighed, exhausted from the evens of the day, frightened by how they were progressing and not willing to fight. "Rei…" I hugged him gently, a gesture too familiar for any avian setting, which mad Rei tense for a moment before he hugged me back. "Thank you for watching out for me."

"Danica-"

"I'm sorry I scared you." I continued, before Rei could finish what he was about to say. "But this time, you needn't worry about what happened. No threats passed between us- just talk. Two of us trying to figure out how to end this stupid war."

Rei nodded. "Danica, I-"

He broke off, stepping away from me and falling back into the formal warriors pasture as my mother entered, golden eyes cold as ice.

"Shardae, explain," she said shortly.

I resisted the desire to sigh in annoyance. "Mother, may we discuss this tomorrow? I would like some sleep before we speak to the Mistari Disa again."

"I would like to know what Zane Cobriana was doing in your private chambers," the Tuuli Thea responded.

"He came to talk," I answered, trying not to sound petulant when I was so exhausted that I was probably swaying on my feet. "He was worried that if we did not communicate first, the meeting with the Mistari Disa would go the same way tomorrow as it did tonight.

"If that were true, he would have spoken to me or your sister."

"Yes, because you are so open minded."

My mother's eyes widened, and lapsed into the informal in her shock. "Danica, you will not speak to me in such a way. I am your mother and the Tuuli Thea."

"You wont be in a few weeks. Cecilia will soon take over." I responded.

"For the moment, I do," she argued. With a glance at my guards, she ordered, "Andreios, get your flight together, and send the Mistari Disa our apologies. We will be leaving tonight."

"Mother!"

"Shardae, there will be no discussion on this point," she said sharply. "We are bringing you home if I need to have the Royal Flight hold you by your pinfeathers the entire way."

"What about the serpiente?" I protested. "We should at least-"

"Shardae, obey me!" To that final tone there was to be no argument.

My head lowered so she would not see the fury on my face, I forced out the words, "Yes, Mother."


	6. Chapter 6

Hawksong 6

Though I was infuriated by their refusal to listen to anything, I understood the response my mother and guards had given to the Mistari's proposal. In avian society, a young woman was often promised to her future Alistair shortly after birth. The two grew up together, he raised to a guide and protector, and she raised to trust him implicitly. He was expected to walk the fine line of an avian gentleman, respecting her strength and sheltering her from the harshest of her world at the same time.

Vasili had been the son of two of the Ravens. By virtue of his position as my Alistair, I was closer to him than any of my family or friends.

I trained with the Royal Flight as my sister prepared to take her position as Tuuli Thea.

My mother had never approved of my being taught to fight, but neither had she approved of my walking the fields where the skills were necessary. She never approved of my sister learning to fight either, but she never liked it as much as me. And she was never as good. Now that I was restricted to the Keep, I used those lessons as an excuse to work off excess energy. Naturally, I could never best him, but I kept my own with most of the Royal Flight.

Half a month after our retreat from the Mistari, I was approached by a young girl no more than sixteen. She was slender and well built, and the fire in her eyes told me the question she was going to ask before she asked it.

"Shardae?" she greeted me, with the half-curtsy that was appropriate here. I nodded in acknowledgment. "My name is Erica Silvermead. I spoke to the Tuuli Thea earlier today, and she referred me to you. If there is a place, milady, I wish permission to join the Royal Flight."

I gazed at the girl in resignation, not surprise. She was young, but no younger than so many of our warriors were when they began- no younger than so many of our warriors were when they died.

"Do you have any training?" I asked.

"Some, milady," the girl responded. As we spoke, I sized her up. Whatever training she had had was not formal, or she would have been standing at a soldier's ready, left hand gripping right wrist. "My brother taught me what he could." The unspoken words _before he died_ hung at the end of that sentence.

"Follow me, and you may present yourself to the Royal Flight for consideration," I said, though I suspected this girl was of a lower class than the Royal Flight usually accepted.

Erica was a sparrow, a breed almost never admitted to the Royal Flight, since both their human and avian forms had a tendency to be light and unsuited to fighting. However, Andreios would make the final decision based on her abilities. If he thought her an ill fit for his elite group, there might still be room for her among one of the other flights.

Changing into my hawk form, I led the way down through the open circle in the floor and to the ground lever, where the Royal Flight was currently sparring without weapons- a form of fighting that was an avian soldier's worst nightmare. My kind had the advantage of flight. If we were lucky, a battle could be finished with a volley of arrows shot from above. However, a clipped wing or lost bow could bring a soldier to the ground, where he would instantly be surrounded by an enemy who had every advantage.

Rei noticed my entrance and approached. I saw him take in the girl at my side. "Are you looking for me, Shardae?" he asked.

"If there is space to train her, Erica Silvermead would like consideration to join the Royal Flight."

Rei's brow tensed slightly, as if he was trying not to frown. "Silvermead… I believe I met your brother once, Lady Erica."

She nodded, keeping her head down a moment to compose herself. "You saved his life, nearly five years ago; he spoke of it often. I'm surprised you remember."

"He is quite a soldier, if I recall," Rei mused.

"He was," Erica amended softly.

"Ah." Rei nodded, bringing the conversation back into safe, neutral territory. "Come this way, and we'll see what kind of fighter you are, Silvermead."

He tossed her a blunted practice blade that, while not sharp enough to cut flesh, could cause plenty of bruises; I had earned enough of those myself during Rei's training sessions.

Erica's eyes lit up and she barely managed to avoid grinning.

"Try not to look so gleeful," Rei chastised lightly. "Remember your goal, Erica: to protect your Tuuli Thea and her heirs, at the cost of your own life if necessary. You are a warrior. That means you will go onto a field someday soon, and you will kill another person."

Erica's gaze fell, but I could tell she was not overly daunted by the prospect of murder. Politely, she responded, "I apologize, sir, but one can hardy call serpiente people."

Rei nodded, not arguing. Erica was not unusual; this was a frame of mind most avians, children and adults, held strongly. However, Rei did ask, "If I bring you into a fight, can I trust you to retreat if ordered?" Erica tried very hard to hide her annoyance at the idea, but did not succeed. "I cannot allow you in my flight if you will not leave a fight when told to do so."

"Does this flight frequently retreat, sir?" Erica asked acidly.

Rei looked at me for a moment. "We are to protect Lady Nacola and her heirs," he explained, for what sounded like the hundredth time. "Frequently, that involves getting our charge off the field and out of enemy sights, and then following her. We are no good to the Tuuli Thea if we die for our pride."

"Yes, sir." Erica answered sullenly.

Her grin was gone, and her gaze was still down when Rei drew the knife from his side.

Erica reacted before the blade had even fully left the sheath, and soon the two were in a flurry of attack and riposte that made my head spin in the attempt to follow. Rei was being cautious, testing his new charge, but I could tell he was using more effort to defend himself than he usually had to with novices.

To end the fight he got inside her guard and pressed the blade against her throat. Erica's blade was useless, trapped against her side.

She, however, did not admit defeat.

She passed the blade behind her back, transferring it to her left hand, and instantly it was against Rei's chest, the blade pressing just over his solar plexus.

"You're dead, Erica," Rei said.

"I'm not alone," she responded easily, slightly breathless, skin flushed with adrenaline.

Rei nodded, acknowledging the point. "You have good moves," he admitted, "Care to try again?"

This time he did not rebuke her grin; not waiting to recover, Erica returned her blade to her dominant hand and began the fight anew.

Rei did not check his ability in order to test hers, but while Erica did not have a chance to attack, she defended herself well.

As evening progressed, I made my way to the second-level court.

The market was peppered with gossips; the court was filled with practices scholars and speakers. Rhetoric replaced simple stories; ballads replaced the weepy tales. The serpiente's recent attempts at peace had already become legend, and the argument about what they really wanted was still going on. The idea that they had been honest was never considered.

After supper, the younger members of the court retired; had I not been heir to the Tuuli Thea, I would probably have been escorted out with the others. As it was, if I sat quietly I could hear the stories that the minstrels and scholars considered too indiscreet to share when the students were still in the room.

Rei usually came to court at about this time, mostly to call attention to me and hush the conversation when he deemed it inappropriate for his charge's ears, but tonight he was late. He sent another crow from his flight, but that young man had obviously not spent much time at court and was easily caught in the web of words all these speakers wove.

As I sat silently on the edge of the court, not in my place at the center table, people forgot I was present. Soon the scene in the Mistari lands was being discussed: how Zane had kissed me- scandalous!- in full view of two of the Royal Flight- shocking!- and neither one had made a move to stop him until he was already gone.

Though speculation about his motives and why the Royal Flight had reacted so slowly was a bit strong, the details were essentially correct; listening made me wonder how many of the other stories were true.

"Shardae."

I jumped at the voice behind my left shoulder, as did the guard Rei had sent to accompany me.

Rei dismissed the guard with a displeased scowl, then simply said to me, "Considering how early you rise in the morning, I would be remiss if I did not point out to you how late it is getting." In other words, he could not order me from the court- he had no authority to do that- but he had not intention of letting me stay to listen either.

Rei escorted me to my floor. Once, this level had housed all of my family: the Tuuli Thea, her pair bond and her sister and my own brother in addition to me. Now, the empty rooms hung heavy with silence.

I bid Rei good night; then, as I had done every evening since our visit to Mistari lands, I listened to Zane's words over and over in my mind. Could he have been honest: I could not help fearing him for being the Diente, for the flames in his eyes and the fangs that were hidden but never gone from my mind. And yet I wanted so much to believe that he really wanted peace.

I slipped out of the slacks and blouse I had worn to court, and into my favorite cotton nightgown. The pale rose color always made me feel as if I was curled up in a sunrise. Small comfort, but I needed it.


End file.
